Click on the play button to listen to report.

With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. The Northwest Pear Bureau is once again calling on pear lovers to share their most creative pictures in the “How do you Anjou?” contest on Instagram.

Just take a picture of your pears or yourself enjoying pears and post them to the USA Pears Instagram page with the hashtag #how do you Anjou? …

BUREAU … “And we’re sort of talking on it this time of year because everyone’s focused on it too about the health of pears. We have six grams of fiber which makes us one of the most fiber-ful fruits out there. And it allows the USDA to qualify us as an excellent source of fiber. So, pears are sort of part of this healthy lifestyle and we would like to encourage people to get outside and snack healthy.”

You may think of pears as a Fall fruit, but …

BUREAU … “And actually, the winter pears, the Anjous, they don’t ripen very well on the tree. They don’t ripen at all if they don’t spend some time sort of resting in cold storage. It’s actually regulated that they spend a certain amount of time before they can be brought out and sold in grocery stores. So, they’re perfect right now. They got their rest in cold storage and they’re ripening very evenly and in this incredibly flavorful, juicy way that’s even better than the earlier season in October for them. People don’t think of it as being a Spring fruit, but they’re perfect right now.”

The contest ends June 7th and the pictures will be judged on creativity and presentation. The winner gets a USA Pears backpack along with other small prizes.

####

BL: Welcome back to “Fruit Bites” brought to you by Valent U.S.A. With us once again is Valent’s Allison Walston and this week, we’re talking ‘organic’! So, Allison, is organic farming the sustainable future of agriculture?

AW: Maybe not. A new German study proposes that organic farming is NOT as sustainable as once thought. Organic farming averages lower yields than conventional & to maintain the current level of food production, converting organic to large-scale would require more land.

BL: What about local versus global for organics?

AW: Locally organic farming has a great fit because middle to upper class areas can afford the extra price. Organic farming and produce might not be the best option for developing countries.

BL: So, what is the future of farming?

AW: The future is using a smart combination of both practices. Check out the study link on the Washivore Facebook page.